On the Road Again

Are you ready for a l ittle travelogue? Or adventure tale? That's what our roadtrip from Minnesota to Lake Tahoe turned into! Bob and I do love a good vacation drive and haven't had the chance for quite awhile. So we have been looking forward to this trip for the drive itself, not just the fact that we would end up at a great destination that was new for us. And close to our kids (young adult kids, that is!). But cross-country travel in the winter is unpredictable at best, and this trip proved that! Thank goodness we have a good 4-wheel drive pickup and Bob is a trooper when it comes to driving. We left home last Thursday AM, made stops in Jackson and Lake Park to say hi to the folks. Good thing, too, since we were rewarded with cinnamon bread and lunch! Then heading towards Omaha we had only a little bit of slippery spot north of Sioux City. Got to Omaha just in time for evening traffic, which combined with darkness, slush, and road construction made for an interesting stretch. Stopped for the night in Grand Island for a good night's sleep and then up early to continue west on I-80. Some light snow, slush on the highway, and heavy clouds which obscured much of our view. Now I realize many of you think "What view?" because the drive across Nebraska has a bad rep. But I personally think that it is undeserved since I like the wide open spaces. Remember the Dixie Chicks song? Fits me perfectly! Things were going pretty well until we crossed into Wyoming. I have one bit of advice for the Wyoming DOT--GET SALT! The interstate turned into packed snow/ice so our speed slowed down considerably. The heavy load of semi trucks made it hard to pass and/or be passed without slipping around. At one point we saw a very serious accident that had closed down the eastbound lanes for quite awhile, resulting in a parking lot of vehicles on the highway. Our path was clear to keep on moving westward, until we got aways further and witnessed a scene that was hard to comprehend. There are 3 large mountain slopes east of Evanston called the Sisters, and there was so much ice, etc., that traffic came to a standstill in both directions. I have never seen so many semi trucks in one spot, and they just happened to be parked every which way on the interstate. Several jack-knifed or off the road. We were able to slowly manuever through the maze with a little convoy of 4WD vehicles, and make it to Evanston safely. Our hopes to make Salt Lake City for the night were dashed, but we were happy to call it a night.
All the time I have for now, I will continue the saga at a later time. With reports on knitting and sewing!